Putting the Lid on Transfats

It is in your favorite snacks, your cooking oils and a lot of your fast food favorites - they are called transfats and they are making headlines by jeopardizing the health of millions of Americans by clogging arteries and contributing to heart disease.

Just this past month, the FDA announced it was opening a 60 day comment period on proposed regulations that would relabel partially hydrogenated oils as not "generally recognized as safe," leading to their eventual removal from the food supply.

Eventually the goal is to ban transfats altogether. Man-made fat like transfats have not done much to benefit efforts to follow a clean eating diet. If you are looking to steer clear of some of them to protect your health, make sure to stay alert about the foods that can derail your efforts.

Here is a list of foods to watch out for that are known to have a good amount of transfats:

Cake mixes and frosting

Margarine

Ice Cream

Microwave popcorn

Frozen dinners

The list is much longer, but note these are very common products in your food cabinets.

If you want to steer clear of transfats, try consuming more fresh fruits and vegetables and eating clean. You can also get "good fats" from food items such as monosaturated fats such as nuts, avocados and guacamole. You should also load up on the Omega3s that can be found in fish such as tuna, salmon and mackerel.

This will not only help you steer clear of the health effects of transfats, but it will also contribute to your overall health and help you maintain a healthy weight.